


With all your faults, I love you still

by iantosgal



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-10
Updated: 2013-03-10
Packaged: 2017-12-04 22:17:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/715713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iantosgal/pseuds/iantosgal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for this prompt on the kink meme over at livejournal: Clint and Phil slow-dancing to a Frank Sinatra song. Song choice is up to the filler. Bonus points if Clint sings along while he and Phil dance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	With all your faults, I love you still

Phil straightened his tie in the mirror before leaving the bathroom and returning to what was turning in to a horribly boring night. 

Ever since the Avengers had saved the world and tumbled into the public eye, everyone wanted a piece of them. Anyone who was anyone wanted to be seen with them, to be snapped with them and have the photo’s strewn all over the press. Politicians wanted to talk to them about political issues from the globally important to the trivial. Celebrities wanted to befriend them, reporters wanted to interview them and Jay Leno’s people were on the verge of being, shall we say, verbally assaulted by Fury if they phoned one more time about getting the team on the show. 

Not everyone was dealing with the situation. 

Tony was used to it. He was Tony Stark. He’d spent practically his entire life in the limelight. He thrived in it, enjoyed playing up to the cameras and giving the journalists little soundbites that meant nothing, but had everyone talking. 

Steve may not be clued up on this century yet but he was polite and he took the time to learn about the people he was speaking to. He was a smart guy and people flocked to him. He was Captain America after all. 

Thor...well, Thor was Thor. People enjoyed being around Thor because he was enthusiastic, he was loud and he was fun. He was always the one of the team that drunk the most and always had a tale for every occasion. 

The others didn’t really like the limelight so much. Bruce didn’t like the way everyone treated him wearily as if he might Hulk out at any moment. He spent most of the public appearances hiding and weaselled his way out of as many interviews as possible. 

Clint and Tasha were assassins for fucks sake. They lived in the shadows and now they were being forced, blinking and unwilling, into the light. Tasha was faring better because she was the only woman on the team. Men loved her because she was sexy and dangerous as hell. They thrived on the challenge she posed and the way she could kill them with her little finger. Woman loved her because she was a symbol of a strong independent woman. She could and would kick your arse if you crossed her. 

Then there was Clint. He was the guy who got pushed to the side. People couldn’t grasp why he was on the team, they just saw him as a normal guy running around with a bow and arrow. He wasn’t as exciting as the others. 

Clint couldn’t give a shit. He liked that people didn’t take as much notice of him because he didn’t want the attention. He knew what he did for the team, knew how important he was in providing the distance attack and the strategic planning. He knew he was co-best hand to hand fighter on the team, alongside Tasha and he didn’t really feel the need to prove himself. 

But tonight? Well, tonight, Phil had watched Clint become more and more sullen. Phil wasn’t part of the team that made up the face of the Avengers Initiative so he escaped the onslaught of attention the others were subjected to and this allowed him to observe them from the sidelines and normally he was impressed. But tonight was different. 

The gala they were attending was being held in their honour. It was exactly a year since Loki and the Chitauri attacked New York and the Avengers were first formed. It was like a team birthday party, celebrating the first time they saved the world and every other time since. Most of them seemed to be enjoying themselves and even Bruce seemed to be having fun, throwing himself into celebrating that he had found a place he belonged and a family, albeit an unconventional one. 

But Clint was quiet. He hung back from the others and refused to be drawn into conversation with anyone. He sat at the bar and nursed his bourbon, staring blankly at nothing. 

Phil knew exactly what was going on in his head. You don’t spend as many years as they had working side by side without getting to know each other. For Clint, this wasn’t a day to celebrate. This was the day he had had his body taken over, when he had lost control of himself and been forced to kill people he knew and liked. He wanted to wallow in his own self pity and guilt. He did not want to party. 

It hurt Phil to see Clint like this. He liked the cheeky side of Clint, the way his eyes glinted when he made a smart arse comment, the way he smiled a sly half smile when he flirted outrageously with Phil just to see if he get a rise out of him, not realising how much his words and actions made Phil’s heartbeat flutter. 

After another hour of watching Clint’s slumped figure sat at the bar, the only movement being the steady rise and fall of his drinking arm, Phil couldn’t take it anymore. He stepped out of the shadowed corner he had stationed himself in, more out of habit than necessity, and made his way to the bar. He sat down beside Clint, placing his empty glass on the bar and motioning to the barman for a refill. 

“Not for him,” Phil said, when the barman asked if Clint would like a refill to. Clint looked at him questioningly but Phil ignored him. “You look like you’re enjoying yourself,” he said, dryly. 

Clint snorted. 

“Oh yeah, I’m having a swell time,” he replied, knocking back the rest of his drink and gesturing for another, looking over at Phil defiantly. 

Phil sighed but said nothing, taking another sip of his drink and letting his eyes roam across the crowded dance floor. 

Tony was dancing with Pepper, swinging her round the dance floor and making her laugh with abandon; Steve and Bruce were stood talking animatedly, Natasha was chatting to a handsome man who looked like he couldn’t believe his luck and Thor had gathered a large crowd who were cheering him on in a drinking game in which he seemed to be the only contender. He turned back to Clint and found Clint staring right back at him. 

“Are you enjoying this?” Clint asked, gesturing at the room at large. 

Phil didn’t answer. He wasn’t enjoying it because Clint wasn’t enjoying it and he didn’t know how to tell Clint that. He knew what it meant, of course, he’d always known how he’d felt about Clint. Ever since he met him, there had been something about his cocky attitude, his amazing ability and his constant aversion to sleeves that had driven Phil to distraction. Not that anyone else would have notice because he was Phil Coulson and he was a professional damn it. 

But. 

Tonight they weren’t technically at work. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration and Phil just wanted to wipe that haunted, guilt filled look and false smile from Clint’s face. 

He’d been building up to this for a while and now seemed as good a time as any. He knocked back the rest of his drink for a little Dutch courage and got to his feet. 

“Dance with me,” he said, holding out a hand. 

Clint blinked at him, looking from Phil’s outstretched hand to his face, as if he didn’t understand what Phil was doing. 

“Don’t leave me standing here like this, Clint. Dance with me,” Phil said, shaking his hand slightly. He was starting to think this was a bad idea. 

Slowly, Clint reached out and took Phil’s hand. Phil pulled him to his feet and over to the dance floor. He put his hand on Clint’s waist and pulled him closer. Clint seemed awkward to start with but after a few moments he relaxed into the gentle sway the Phil was leading him in. They swayed to the music, oblivious to everyone else in the room. 

After a while, Phil realised Clint was murmuring softly. He leaned a little closer to try and hear him better. Clint’s arm tightened around him and pulled him closer. Phil looked up into Clint’s eyes and realised Clint was singing to him. 

“Some others I've seen, might never be mean...Might never be cross, or try to be boss...But they wouldn't do.”

Phil swallowed around the lump that was forming in his throat. Clint had a good voice and it was sending shivers through his body. He wanted to lean in and kiss Clint, but he wasn’t sure how Clint would react. 

“For nobody else, gave me a thrill...with all your faults, I love you still. It had to be you, wonderful you...It had to be you,” Clint sang and it made Phil’s heart skip. The look in Clint’s eyes said he meant every word, singing lyrics or not, and before Phil had even finished convincing himself that a kiss would be a fantastic idea right now, Clint leant forward and slowly, so slowly it made Phil ache, he kissed him. 

Phil kissed him back immediately, deepening the kiss and trying to fill it with everything he felt. The song changed in the background. It wasn’t a slow song anymore but they didn’t notice, just carried on swaying in the middle of the dance floor, lost in each other. 

After what felt like an eternity and at the same time not long enough, Clint broke the kiss, resting his forehead against Phil’s. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Clint said. 

Phil couldn’t help but huff out a quiet laugh. 

“Believe me, I can imagine,” he said. 

Clint smiled at him. It wasn’t the cocky smile he was used to, it was softer warmer. It was a smile meant only for him. 

“We’re idiots,” Clint said.

“Yeah. Do you wanna get out of here?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Phil stopped swaying, only now becoming aware that the music had changed and that they were drawing a few stares. He caught Tasha’s eye but she just smiled and Tony definitely just winked at him. 

He couldn’t help but grin as, hand in hand, they left the party and headed home.


End file.
